St. Louis area 3-year-old kills himself with gun in bedroom

JENNINGS, Mo. (AP) – Another shooting has claimed the life of a child in the St. Louis area, but police say they believe the child found the gun in a bedroom and shot himself.

Police say a 3-year-old boy was home with his mother and father when he found an unsecured firearm in a bedroom of their apartment and accidentally discharged it, hitting himself. A statement from police says that the incident is being investigated as an accident.

Police spokeswoman Tracy Panus says his mother contacted St Louis County Police officers in patrol who took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

St. Louis city has been the site of 11 confirmed homicides involving children age 16 or younger this year, and St. Louis County has reported two child homicides. Two other child deaths in the city remain under investigation.